1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of three-dimensional computer graphics, and more particularly to a system and method for manipulating and rendering of selected three-dimensional objects within a scene using a computer.
2. Related Art
The advances in Personal Computer ("PC") technology have made possible the introduction of relatively inexpensive workstations for word processing, accounting, graphical design and other similar applications which previously required dedicated workstations. The use of PC-Based workstations for visualization of three dimensional objects set in three-dimensional space has traditionally been hindered by the demands placed by existing software on the computers. The complex mathematical operations required for correctly drawing and rendering three-dimensional objects including hidden surface removal, application of texture, lighting, shadows, and animating the three-dimensional objects makes heavy demands on the PCs used for this purpose. Typically, the PC-based systems were designed to defer most of the detailed rendering to after the design was complete. Although this compromise improved the performance of the systems, a graphic designer was not able to view a substantially accurate representation of the final scene while designing the scene.
Computational demands placed on PCs are particularly severe when one or more objects located in a complex scene are being manipulated by the designer. In a conventional system, the entire scene is rendered continually while the objects are being manipulated by the designer. As a result, even if most of the scene is not affected by manipulation of the selected object or objects, the entire scene must be updated to account for the movement of the selected objects and their effects on the scene. The computational demand may exceed the ability of many PCs.
It is therefore desirable to provide a system that will minimize the computational requirements for rendering a scene in which one or more selected objects are being manipulated within the scene.